Page 47 of Taking Her Medicine

I hung my head, not wanting to see the concern that would be etched on his handsome face when he walked in. My shoulder and wrist throbbed with pain, and my head ached. “You don’t have to sit with me.”

Tanya patted my non-injured arm. “You’re dating him, aren’t you? Leeann’s snarky comment really upset you.” She sighed. “I’ll be your witness if you want so you don’t have to get a statement from her.”

“Yeah,” I lamely replied, not wanting to get into any details.

“What did Leeann do?” Becca snarled. I looked up, and her gorgeous hazel eyes darkened.

I waved it off. “Just let it go.”

The situation wasn’t anywhere close to okay though. Tanya had seen Aaron and me arrive at the clinic together, but I didn’t think she jumped to us dating from that one trip.

Aaron entered the breakroom followed closely by Leeann who was pushing a wheelchair.

“Leeann needs to get out of my sight.” I stated simply.

Aaron shot me a look and glanced over his shoulder at Leeann. She shrugged and handed off the chair to him. “Is there something else you should be telling me?”

“There was a misunderstanding. I’ll fix it when Zulu Oscar—” She cleared her throat and shifted her gaze to me. “When you feel better, Zoelle, maybe we could talk.”

Leeann’s offer sounded as sincere as I’d ever heard, but I was still in battle mode. “When pigs fucking fly. I’m finished working here. You’ve done nothing but make this a hostile work environment.”

“Let’s not make any rash decisions,” Aaron suggested.

But I was in pain and not open to rational thought at the moment. “I fucking quit.” I stood up again, intending to simply leave, when I teetered.

“Sit down, Zoelle.” Aaron added a deep tone of authority into his voice. “Rightnow.”

I caved. “S-sorry, Sir.”

Fuck.

“Uh, I meantDoctor Sir,”I stated awkwardly, trying to make up for the use of his title and combined them. “Dr. York,” I corrected.

I’ll blame the head injury.

Becca grabbed me by the waist and planted my ass on the floor. She knew Aaron and I were together. I hadn’t gotten around to explaining my unique dynamic to her, but perhaps no one else would find my titles odd.

“Everyone—except Zoelle—get out of the breakroom.” Aaron gestured to the doorway. Becca patted my hand before hurrying out of room.

“Feel better, Zoe,” Tanya said, waving as she left. But she threw nasty glares at Leeann who stayed firmly planted where she stood.

“Let me help?” Leeann offered. “I can—”

Aaron cocked an eyebrow. “You canhelpby leaving the room as I requested.”

Leeann flushed red, and she wrung her hands together. “Please don’t quit, Zoelle. I-I was wrong about what I said. It’s not true.”

“If you ever—and I meanever—valued our friendship, Leeann? Get out.” Aaron crouched down to my spot on the floor. “I need to assess Zoelle’s injuries and you’re preventing me from doing that.”

Leeann left without another word.

Heaps of embarrassment piled on top of the horror over the way I’d acted, including but not limited to cursing at my place of work—something I’d never done before. I hated Leeann for reducing me to acting like an unprofessional employee.

Aaron lifted me into the wheelchair carefully, trying to avoid further jostling of my arm.

“Where is the pain, sweetheart?”

“My left arm from my shoulder all the way to my fingers. My head hurts a lot too.”

---